Weather woes crimp grape crop

Michigan harvest forecast to be low.

Michigan harvest forecast to be low.

October 30, 2006|KEVIN LEHMAN Capital News Service

LANSING -- Even with Michigan's grape harvest forecast at 71 percent below last year's, winemakers are still pleased with their crop. Grape production is projected at relatively low 30,000 tons because of weather problems, including an April frost and hailstorms in late July. David Creighton, promotional specialist for the Michigan Grape & Wine Industry Council, said the smaller crop has a greater impact on juice grapes but is still hurting the wine industry. "Overall the reduction hasn't made a big impact throughout the state, but producers in southwest Michigan have had minor problems," he said. Joe Herman, co-owner of Karma Vista Vineyards in Coloma, said, the timing of the frost is the factor that affected juice grapes and not wine grapes. "Wine grapes are much more cold-tender but they bud a little later in the spring which saved them this year," Herman said. "If it had been earlier, you might have lost the cherry crop and if it had been later, it could have hit the wine crop. "It all depends on when it hits." Herman, whose vineyard produces nine varietals including a blush and a cabernet franc, said there are more varieties wine grapes and only two types of juice grapes grown in Michigan. Matt Moersch, a winemaker at the Round Barn Winery in Baroda, said his crop was affected, but the weather hurt only the amount produced, not the quality. "We lost a third of our crop because of the April frost, but the rest of the season has been all right," Moersch said. "Because of the weather, it slowed the ripening that will reduce the sugar and the alcohol content, but the acidity is still right so the taste won't change." Round Barn Winery produces 20 varietals -- from a harvest delight to a Lake Michigan Shore merlot. Because of the smaller crop, the winery will have to produce less wine and pass the higher cost to consumers, he said. "It's all about the elements of supply and demand," Moersch said. "When we have a banner year, we are able to lower our price, and with the down year we have to raise it a little to match the difference." The decline in grape production this year is similar to that of 2002 when spring frosts hit and damaged a large portion of the juice crop while wine grapes suffered less, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Ed O'Keefe III, president of Chateau Grand Traverse winery and vineyards in Traverse City, said he was on the verge of a "banner year" before encountering other problems. "This year could have turned out to be our most incredible year ever if it weren't for the bad weather we had in early October," he said. "Even with that, it was still an above-average year for us." O'Keefe, whose vineyard produces 15 varietals from red and white Rieslings to a chardonnay, has had problems with harvesting because of the weather. "For us to harvest, we need relatively dry fruit and we've been delayed waiting for the right weather," he said.